Charter School Will Delay Application

Sganga Leaders Faced Rejection At This Morning's School Board Meeting And Decided To Wait Until September.

April 30, 1997|By Lori Horvitz of The Sentinel Staff

Despite good intentions shown by the founders of the Frank Sganga Charter School, Volusia schools Superintendent Bill Hall said he plans to recommend that School Board members reject their application at today's meeting.

But the issue probably will not come to a vote at the 9 a.m. board meeting because school organizers decided late Tuesday to postpone their application.

The organizers will reapply in September after addressing a list of 23 requirements devised by the school district.

The delay means the school will be exempt from having to adhere to the application dates established in the School Board's newly adopted charter-school policy.

Once Sganga organizers submit their application, the School Board would have 60 days to deny or accept it. If accepted, the Sganga school would open in August 1998.

The superintendent has said he won't support the application until the school has satisfied a list of conditions. Among those requirements are renovations to the school's proposed site at a vacant manufacturing plant in New Smyrna Beach and enrollment of at least 80 students.

Hall also wants the school to appoint someone to work directly with the School Board. Sganga organizers apparently have agreed to this condition but still have not named anyone to that position.

Last month, Hall warned school organizers that he was prepared to recommend rejection of the charter because of concerns about Sganga's ability to work with district officials.

Since then, New Smyrna Beach accountant John Giovannoni has been appointed as chairman and spokesman of the charter school.